Machines have been assisting humans in auto manufacturing for many years. In fact, most of the assembly work is carried out by machines rather than humans, however, the work sections of humans and machines have always been separate due to safety reasons. Audi has come up with an innovative robot called KLARA that does not require any protective fence, thus works alongside humans in the same working space.
“Adhesive application with robot assistance”, abbreviated as ‘KLARA’, is employed at Audi’s Ingolstadt plant and is being used in the production of Audi A4 and A5 models. It involves a robotic arm that helps in installing the optional carbon-fiber reinforced polymer roof on the Audi A5.
First, the human worker puts the CFRP roof on a rotary table and tilts it. The worker then presses a button, which tells KLARA to apply adhesive on specific areas. After that, KLARA signals that the roof is ready for installation, asking the human worker to finish the job.
KLARA is being used for applying adhesive because it is capable of doing it more precisely compared to a human worker. It uses sensors to detect if any human touches the machine and automatically halts the process for safety reasons.